Convertible garment



. J. SEITZMAN ET AL April 8, 1941 CONVERTIBLE GARMENT Filed Feb. 27, 1940 ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 8, I941 nm'rso STATES PATENT OFFICE CONVERTIBLE GARMENT Julius Seitzman, New York, N. Y., and Benjamin Seitzman, Richmond, Va.

Application February 27, 1940, Serial N 0. 321,004

4. Claims. ,(pl. 2 si,)

The present invention relates to wearing apmay ordinarily be worn as a mufiler and quickly converted, when desired, into a sweater for the protection. of the front and back or into a sleeved garment which protects the shoulders, arms and upper portions of the chest and back. A further object is to so form the garment that it is well tting in all of its several uses.

Other objects of the invention, are to provide xch a garment which may be easily and. ecolmi-cally manufactured from a variety of matetls including knitted or woven textiles or other table sheet material.

*T'or a full understanding of the invention and objects and advantages thereof, reference ill be had to the following description of the resent preferred embodiment thereof, which is to be taken in conjunction with the drawing in which:

Fig, 1 is a plan view of the garment completely spread'out prior to its conversion into one of the three forms in which it may be worn;

Fig. 2 illustrates the garment as worn when converted into the form of a muffler or scarf;

Fig. 3 shows the garment as worn when converted into the form of a sleeveless pullover sweater;

Fig. 4 shows the garment as worn when con verted into its third form of a sleeved semi-coat.

Referring to Fig. 1, the garment of this invention is formed from a flat sheet of material which may be initially knitted or woven, or cut from yarn goods, into the shape illustrated. As shown, this garment is in the form of an. elongated strip, substantially longer than it is wide and preferably, though not necessarily, having a narrowed central portion which defines substantially rectangular end portions at either side thereof.

The sheet is formed with substantially straight parallel ends It! and II which are at right angles to the parallel longitudinal edges A, B, C and D which extend inwardly for slightly less than one-third of the overall length. The edges A and B, C and D, join with inwardly extending arcuate portions l2 and 13, between which, and centrally disposed in the sheet, is an elongated opening M. This opening l4 preferably extends longitudinally of the sheet and is of a size adapted to pass over the head of the wearer when the garment is worn in certain of its forms.

The edges of the garment are preferably reenforced by seams, selvages, binding or the like, as

indicated by the double lines.

A particular feature of the invention is the location and arrangement of fastening members which are provided along the edges A, B, C and D. In the embodiment illustrated, they are shown as buttons l5 along the edges 13 and C and button holes I6 along the edges A and D. It will be noted; that the like elements of each set of fastening members are diagonally opposite one another when the garment is laid out flat, as

" shown in Fig. 1. Any other suitable types of fastening memberssuch, for example, as hooks and eyes, grommets and laces, snap fasteners, or separable slide fasteners, (commonly called zippers) may be used in place of buttons and button holes, Zippers being a particularly advantageous type of fastening to use.

When the garment is to be worn as a muffler or scarf, the upper and lower halves (Fig. 1) are folded upon one another along the broken center line It. To maintain these two halves together and, form a substantially tubular muffler, the buttons I5 along the edge C may be engaged in the corresponding button holes l6 along the edge A, and the buttons along the edge B may be engaged in the button holes along the edge D. The garment is then draped about the neck in the usual manner as shown in Fig. 2, with the edges l2 and I3 adjacent the neck. The arcuate form of these edges, which coincide when the garment is folded as a scarf, permits the scarf to lie snugly about the neck and to conform thereto without further folding. This form also provides a nice overlap in front, as shown at 19, for the protection of the chest. The portions A and B have been identified in Fig. 2, indicating the relative position of the parts in this condi- .tion of use.

To convert the garment into the form of a sleeveless sweater, the buttons along the edge B are engaged in the button holes along the edge A and the buttons along the edge C are engaged with the button holes along the edge D. This operation may be performed either before or after the garment is placed over the head in the position shown in Fig. 3, in which one end extenids down the front and the other end extends down the back, the joined edges extending down the sides. When thus worn it will be noted that the slot N forms an attractive V-neck and that the arcuate portions [2 and I3 form the arm holes of the sweater, the end ll forming the bottom of the front and the end It forming the bottom of the back, or vice versa.

If it is desired to utilize the garment to protect primarily the arms and shoulders rather than the chest and back, the edges A and B are secured respectively to the edges C and D and the arms are inserted into the sleeves thus formed, the opening [4 being passed over the head in a direction at right angles to that shown in Fig. 3, the final form of the garment when thus used being illustrated in Fig. 4.

It will be noted that the buttons l5 may be passed through the button holes I6 from either side of the material so that the two halves thercof will lie flat against each other for use as a muffler, or will form an overlap without an extending seam when used as a sweater or semicoat.

It has been found that suitable dimensions for the sheet shown in Fig. 1, for a person of average build, are as follows: Width 18 inches, overall length 50 inches, length of the edges A, B, C and D inches, and of the intermediate narrowed portion, that is to say the chord subtended by the arcuate portions l2 and I3, 20 inches. The length of the neck opening it should be about 10 inches. These dimensions may be suitably varied in accordance with the material used and to provide garments for persons of varying sizes. If the material is highly stretchable, as would be the case with certain types of knit fabrics, these dimensions may be reduced and reliance placed upon the stretchability of the material to obtain a proper fit.

As will be apparent, the convertible garment herein described is particularly useful for sportsmen and those in the military and naval service who may wish to have readily at hand a garment which may quickly be converted to various uses, thus avoiding the necessity of encumbering themselves with a variety of garments. Instead of being made from knit or woven fabrics of the type usually used in scarves and mufiiers, the garment may be made from any suitable waterproof material, in which case it is particularly useful, in case of rain, for providing substantial protection to the arms and shoulders and the upper portions of the chest and back when used in the form shown in Fig. 4.

It is to be understood that the embodiment shown and particularly described is merely for the purpose of illustration and that various modifications may be made therein within the purview of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A convertible garment adapted to be worn as a scarf draped around the neck, a sleeveless sweater covering the upper part of the torso and a sleeved garment covering the arms and upper portions of the chest and back, comprising a strip of textile material having a width sufficient to pass half way around the torso of the wearer and a length not exceeding substantially twice the measure from the center of the neck to the wrist of said wearer, said strip having a centrally disposed opening of suificient size to be passed over the head of said wearer, and the end portions of the strip carrying on their latera1 edges two complementary types of fastening means, one of said types being on two diagonally opposite ones of said edges, and the other of said types being on the other two diagonally opposite ones of said edges.

2. A convertible garment adapted to be worn as a scarf draped around the neck, a sleeveless sweater covering the upper part of the torso and a sleeved garment covering the arms and upper portions of the chest and back, comprising a strip of stretchable textile material having a width sufficient to pass half way around the torso of the wearer and a length not exceeding substantially twice the measure from the center of the neck to the wrist of said wearer, said strip having a centrally disposed opening extending along the longitudinal median line of said strip and of sufficient size to be passed over the head of said wearer, and the end portions of the strip carrying on their lateral edges two complementary types of'fastening means, one of said types being on two diagonally opposite ones of said edges, and the other of said types being on the other two diagonally opposite ones of said edges.

3. A convertible garment adapted to be worn as a scarf draped around the neck, a sleeveless sweater covering the upper part of the torso and a sleeved garment covering the arms and upper portions of the chest and back, comprising a strip of stretchable textile material having a width sufficient to pass half way around the torso of the wearer and a length not exceeding substantially twice the measure from the center of the neck to the wrist of said wearer, said strip having a centrally disposed slit extending along the longitudinal median line of said strip and of sufiicient size to be passed over the head of said wearer, whereby said garment has a V-neck when used as a sleeveless sweater, a close-fitting neck when worn as a sleeved garment, and a relatively straight folded edge when folded to wear as a scarf, and the end portions of the strip carrying on their lateral edges two complementary types of fastening means, one of said types being on two diagonally opposite ones of said edges, and the other of said types being on the other two diagonally opposite ones of said edges.

4. A convertible garment adapted to be worn as a scarf draped around the neck, a sleeveless sweater covering the upper part of the torso and a sleeved garment covering the arms and upper portions of the chest and back, comprising a strip of textile material having a width sufficient to pass half way around the torso of the wearer and a length not exceeding substantially twice the measure from the center of the neck to the wrist of said wearer, said strip having a centrally disposed slit extending along the longitudinal median line of said strip and of sufficient size to be passed over the head of said wearer, whereby said garment has a V-neck when used as a sleeveless sweater, a close-fitting neck when worn as a sleeved garment, and a relatively straight folded edge when folded to wear as a scarf, and the end portions of the strip carrying on their lateral edges two complementary types of fastening means, one of said types being on two diagonally opposite ones of said edges, and the other of said types being on the other two diagonally opposite ones of said edges.

JULIUS SEITZMAN. BENJAMIN SEITZMAN.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION,

Patent No.1. 2,257,568.. April 19in,

JULIUS SEITZMAN, ET AL.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows; Page 1, first column, line 58; for the word "yarn read -yard and that the saidLetters Patent shouldbe read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office,

Signed and sealed this 29th day of April, A, 13., 19in Henry Van Ar-sdale, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patentsa 

